The Gambling Among Women project was the first national longitudinal study of gambling behavior in the United States. The primary aims of the study were as follows:

• To assess the risks and correlates of problem/pathological gambling in women;
• To learn more about the connection between problem/pathological gambling and specific game types; and
• To examine the relationship between gambling motives and problem/pathological gambling.

This project added a gambling module to the National Study of Health and Life Experiences of Women (NSHLEW), an ongoing longitudinal survey of drinking behavior and drinking-related problems. The new questionnaire module built substantially on existing items in the NSHLEW that assess gambling-related problems. In addition, the new module asked respondents about their participation in, and motivations toward, gambling activities. This project was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

An additional component of this project involved analyzing existing survey data from NORC's 1999 Gambling Impact and Behavior Study (GIBS), the first national probability survey of gambling since 1974. That survey was funded by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission as part of its mandate to conduct a comprehensive study of the social and economic impacts of gambling in the United States. The GIBS included five separate initiatives: a nationally representative telephone survey of 2,417 adults, a national telephone survey of 534 youths aged 16 and 17, randomized intercept interviews with 530 adult patrons of gaming facilities, a longitudinal data base (1980–1997) of social and economic indicators in a national probability sample of 100 communities, and case studies in 10 communities regarding the effects of large-scale casinos operating in close proximity.